Churches and individuals should consider the value of Short Term Missions and how they fit into the larger picture of long-term missions ministry in planting churches.  Short term teams can provide ministry that long term missionaries could not do on their own.  Please tune in to today's episode to consider eight aspects of short term trips.  You careful planning, and your prayerful discernment about how God is leading you can be a blessing, not only to the missionaries on the field and the recipients of any ministry, but for the individual who goes on the trip too.  Perhaps this is the perfect opportunity for you to discern more clearly God's call on your life and your involvement in missions.

Everyone should consider how they can get personally involved in missions.  There is always more for you to learn as you grow in your understanding of both missions and the missionaries in your church.  Pray earnestly for the Lord to send out workers, and pray for those who have already been sent.  Begin sharing your faith now.  Support missions, not just financially.  And start reaching internationals.  This podcast begins to open our understanding on how you can be personally involved in missions.  But there is much more to grow in.  Keep going and don't stop! You can find more details about the topics raised here at https://propempo.com/services/missions-paths/inquirer/ You can compile your only custom-made pdf of missions questions and answers with Propempo's handy tool: https://propempo.com/services/missions-path-pdf/

Everyone has a missions path to go down.  Which one is yours?  Begin your journey by inquiring.  Ask good questions.  Find out more about missions, it's biblical basis, it's history, your church's role in missions and the missionaries you know.  Become a life-long learner of missions.  Challenge yourself to commit to missions and grow in the depth of your understanding of God's heart for missions.  Inquire!   You can find detailed answers to the questions asked here at https://propempo.com/services/missions-paths/inquirer/ You can compile your only custom-made pdf of missions questions and answers with Propempo's handy tool: https://propempo.com/services/missions-path-pdf/

We have much to praise God for when considering how churches are increasingly stepping up to take their rightful place being responsible for global missions.  We see God growing churches to become sending churches, and there are many organizations that are teaching this and supporting this now.  Please continue to pray that this paradigm shift in thinking about missions as church-centered would grow from a groundswell into a full on tidal wave of change in how most churches and agencies do missions.  And thank God that we are already seeing that conviction take root in several ways now.  Listen to this episode to hear a run down of several organizations that are on the right track.  And leave a comment on the podcast if you can think of any more.

The church, the missions agency and the missionary all need to work together to accomplish the mission.  Who bears what responsibility?  How can we manage expectations?  And most importantly, how can we maintain the biblical conviction of keeping the church in the driver's seat?  Furthermore, how can we resolve conflicts when disagreements about or divergence from expectations arise?  In this episode we walk through a proposed template for a church and agency partnership agreement.  Feel free to adapt it as you like, because your church and the mission's needs will vary from situation to situation.

Over the years, missions agencies and churches have diverged from each other and often find themselves at odds.  But, missions agencies provide a unique role in fostering church partnerships.  First, agencies must recognize how they have succumbed to mission creep, no long supporting the church like they originally intended.  Second, missions agencies can equip the church for their role.  Third, they can let go of those roles that most appropriately belong under the domain of the local church.  Furthermore, missions agencies foster church partnerships too, through prioritizing prayer and facilitating the gathering of churches around the mission that they are partnering in.

No matter what kind of church you are, there is value in establishing church partnerships in the work of missions.  Three kinds of churches are explored in this episode: the sending church, the supporting church, and the receiving church.  Each kind of church has a unique interest in church partnerships.  Churches need other churches.  Just like the Gentile churches sent support to the church in Jerusalem, we too need to be aware of and ready to help other churches in need.  And who knows, one day we might find ourselves on the receiving end of care as well.

The missionary is a bridge between two cultures and the churches in those cultures.  Church partnerships provides the framework for the missionary to understand the value of his work.  Sometimes work like raising support and writing newsletters can feel like a drudgery, and simply a means to an end.   But they're not.  They support the grand vision of church partnerships.  A vision for church partnerships can help motivate the missionary in their work to rise above the reduction of their ministry to metrics.  Brotherly affection crosses cultures too.

What do church partnerships have to do with missions?  Isn't it enough that we see healthy churches planted and leaders developed?  In this episode we walk through the biblical account of God's plan for his glory through the unity of churches across cultures as we together worship the same risen Lord and Savior.  Ever since the Tower of Babel, our cooperation has been cursed.  But now that we share the same Spirit, church partnerships can show the world something unique about God's glory.  This is the final goal of missions.

We are weak, limited and frail.  Where can we find the strength to endure until the end, to accomplish the great task that Jesus has given to us to go into all the world, teaching disciples to obey all that Jesus has commanded us?  We are desperately dependent on God alone for both our justification and our sanctification.  God guarantees the success of the mission because he guarantees that his presence will go with us.  We find comfort in the powerful, personal presence of our Savior.

Most people think of discipleship in terms of teaching, but it is easily neglected or undervalued.  It's too easy to think that something else is the objective.  Keeping this goal in mind, though, has dramatically important implications for the church and missions.  We cannot fulfill the goal without the life-long discipleship that is found in the local church.  From the cradle to the grave, everyone is still learning to grow in their obedience to all that Jesus has commanded his disciples.

Who should we invest our time and efforts into making disciples?  How do we know if someone is truly serious about pursuing discipleship or not?  Jesus has given a very simple command, and it should be considered the beginning of discipleship.  Baptism is the glue between the church and missions, and we need to get baptism right in order to hold the two together.

What is the scope of discipleship endeavors in the church?  Who should we seek to make disciples of?  Jesus makes a radically inclusive call for all peoples in every tribe, tongue, and people group to become his disciple.  And thankfully, we are given the promised vision in heaven that this reality will one day be true.  For now though, we need to set our sights on the nations of the world, especially those places that are darkest, the unreached and unengaged.

Jesus begins the Great Commission by declaring that all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him.  But what does this mean for the church and for missions?  Jesus' authority is essential for missionaries because it grounds them in the sure foundation of God's word and the church which is where Jesus' authority is exercised.  Be wary of missionaries who are untethered from the church, just as we should be wary of anyone who comes in their own authority.

Matthew 28:18-20 is the familiar final command of Jesus giving to us "The Great Commission."  In this series we do a deep dive into the Great Commission to see its implications for missions and the church.  Jesus gives the central command for the church to make disciples.  Discipleship is then defined with 5 distinct aspects, which will then constitute the remaining episodes in this series.

Here in the closing books of the New Testament, we see faithful church leaders writing to scattered Christians under persecution and to specific local churches. These books give instruction, encouragement, and correction to church leaders and the believers in their care. We continue to observe that the local church is the greenhouse for growing Christians in their faith. The startling visions of Revelation are also bookended with specific instruction and hope-filled comfort for local churches, which are the fruit of missions and God's global redemptive plan. God is sovereign! Jesus wins! He uses us to reach the nations in His name! In this episode, after 3-1/2 years of Missions on Point, I introduce myself and my assistant Joel Hollins, who will be podcasting the next series. Please feel free to comment, give us feedback, subscribe, like, and follow Missions on Point. And, please tell your friends about the podcast.

The life and writings of the Apostle Paul are God's gift to the church. It's fair to say that we wouldn't understand the Gospel, theology, or missions well apart from Paul's example and letters. So, we read the New Testament and are encouraged to prioritize the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His church. Paul's example also teaches us to be team players, stick to priorities, and have a big heart for those supporting and serving alongside us.

This is a dramatic and critical narrative of the beginnings of the church, the first sent-out missionaries, and the grace of God through the Gospel to Gentile believers everywhere. Persecution exists as a thread throughout the story of missions. God's deliverance for His servants also exists. The first time believers were called Christians was in a Gentile church in a Gentile city. We wear that nametag today across the world. God used the church in Antioch to be the first sending church to Barnabas and Saul, who proved their qualifications and calling in the context of their local sending church.

It is a delight to read the dramatic narrative of the earliest church growing as the Gospel is faithfully preached in the book of Acts. Luke, the human author guided by the Holy Spirit, weaves in the key figures and moments in church development as their concept of missions was being formed. We see touches with many ethnicities from the beginning of the church in Acts chapter 2, the story of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The momentum and diversity grow in the subsequent chapters, building toward this Acts 1:8 Great Commission obedience to take the Gospel to all nations, to the end of the earth.

Christ's last days on earth, His final teachings, instructions, and commands build a consistent crescendo of missions direction. The elements of gospel proclamation to the whole world were repeated themes. We see Christ showing and telling of this missions theme up to his final command, reiterated until his ascension into heaven.